nosferatu (Me and You)
by flamingflight
Summary: What if Kasumi hadn't been the oldest child? (Believe me, it's not what you think)
1. Scarlett With No Pure White

Nosferatu {Me and You}  
Prologue, Scarlett With No Pure White  
  
Author's Notes: Only one question that describes the whole fic. What if Kasumi wasn't the oldest child? Pretty dark in my opinion.  
  
Disclaimers: Ranma 1/2 and all it's characters and affiliates belong to Rumiko Takahashi. Fallen Angels Belong to Aerosmith.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
There's a candle burning   
In the world tonight  
For another child   
Who vanished out of sight  
And a heart is broken  
Another prayer in vain  
There's a million tears   
That'll fill a sea of pain  
  
Sometimes I stare out my window  
My thoughts all drift into space  
Sometimes I wonder if there's a better place  
Tell me  
  
Where do fallen angels go?  
I just don't know (I just don't know)  
Where do fallen angels go?  
They keep falling (They keep falling)  
  
Well, the times is frightening  
Can't ignore the facts  
There's so many people  
Just slippin' through the cracks  
  
So many ashes are scattered  
So many rivers run dry  
Sometimes your Heaven is Hell   
And you don't know why  
So, listen  
  
Falling, falling, falling  
  
Can you hear me?  
Can you hear me?  
Somewhere out there   
There's a shining light  
And I got to be with you tonight  
  
And with all we're nowhere  
We still pay the price  
Yeah the Devil seems to get his way  
In downtown paradise  
  
There's a candle burning  
La, la, la...  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Little scenes fade in and out...the haunted laughter of children fading fast...dreams?...memories?  
Whatever they are...they leave goosebumps up your spine...  
  
theydon'tunderstandtheydon'tunderstandtheydon'tunderstand  
the woman stood nervously next to a white picket fence. Art. Gardens of herbs surrounded her and a rolling sea could be heard and smelled far off. Her skin was a pure white. Snow White. Her hair was a pure white also. Old. Her hands shook violently under the white dress she wore. White. All white. The only color on her were the dark orbs of her eyes. No white in her eyes...no pupils. Just two, oval, black shapes. She waited one second. Two.   
suddenly, it was there. A small dark shape, tall to her hip. It's form shook and shimmered every now and then. It's form wasn't comftorable with this world and it's atmosphere. In it's dark, claw arms was a lifeless baby, not dead for it was never alive.  
'where is it? where is it?' the white being asked viciously, swiping it's old hands. The woman's mouth was pale and the sharp, yellow dog teeth could be seen, it's saliva practically dripping.  
'here' the demon held up the lifeless baby, but when the woman reached for it, the demon held it away.  
'the price, my lady' it said as it wagged it's finger/claw.  
the woman gave a hiss at the minor demon before using one of her clawlike nails to rake lightly across her thin wrist and draw blood. She let the blood drip down onto the little baby as she whispered, "My life for you. I give my soul. You bring me yours. For this, I give my soul, my being, my consciousness."  
the demon gave a cackled laugh as the little baby in it's arms began to writhe and scream.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
thelovebetweenmeandyouthelovebetweenmeandyou  
the happy father ushered his three children into the white hospital room where his wife laid, sleeping baby in her arms. The two younger girls gushed over the new baby. But the oldest boy...he said nothing and just crawled onto the bed. The mother's face ashens and she hugs her baby closer.  
the boy smiles as he looks over the baby. A smile of triumph. A smile of recognition. A smile of hatred. A smile of pain.   
he reaches a small hand out and touches the baby's forehead.  
the woman clutches her baby closer and screeches. Long, long screeches as she thrashes. Men and women in white suits entered. Doctors and nurses probably. They enter and they hold the woman down. Prying the baby from her arms as they push a sedative into her.  
and though the room was white  
all you could see was blood  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
we'llbealrightwe'llbealrightwe'llbealrightwe'llbealright  
the same little boy as before. Only older. Probably around six years. In a Chinese garden of some sort with a koi pond. He's holding hands with a little toddler in a pink, wool jumper and white shirt. Probably only one or two years old, barely able to walk. Her fist is in her mouth and gurgling sounds come out as spit drip down from a tiny mouth.  
strange. Boys his age aren't really babysitters, but he seems to be actually enjoying watching over the little girl. They walk a short distance before the girl falls. Not surprising with the penguin way she's been walking.  
her face full of mud and dirt along with tears, the girl sobbed. But showing a patience beyond his years, the boy picked her up and held her on his side. One foot in the front, one in the back.  
'shhhhh, don't cry anymore, we're almost there,' and surprisingly, the girl stopped crying.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
juststaywithmejuststywithmejuststaywithmejuststaywithme  
it's dark in the house. And it feels of death. Mourners come and go and there are always sobbing sounds.  
the husband crying as he clutches a white dress that his wife had loved to wear  
the children sitting in a circle in the dojo where their mother used to practice. The oldest girl, the middle girl, the boy, and the youngest of them all sleeping in the little boy's lap.  
they all hold hands in the dim light as outside winds howled and banged against the locked doors and windows.  
the middle daughter started to cry again and both sisters clutched the boy's hand even tighter as the oldest girl start to shake  
'don't let them in here' the oldest girl begged.  
'what about mother?' the middle child cried.  
'she's not our mother anymore' the boy whispered.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
don't leavedon'tleavedon'tleavedon'tleavedon'tleavedon'tleave  
a yard now. A front yard and the whole family is there.  
the father. Who's face is stern and hard.  
the oldest sister. Who's face is streaked with tears and pain.  
the middle sister. Who's face is not unlike her older sister.  
the youngest. Who's clutching the boy tight.  
the boy. Who looking down at the youngest, his face is one of a man going to his death.  
and another. A tall, burly man that was born to kill, traiedn to kill, and lived to kill.  
they had said their good-byes. It was time for the boy to go.  
'no! you can't leave me, i'd die' the youngest girl sobbed and from the terror and pain in her voice, one would think that she actually would.  
the boy's face as he pried her from him was that of a man cutting off half of his body and half of his soul  
'sorry, red, but i have to go unless...' he looked to his father but the man just shook his head.  
'i have to go, red, don't forget me and remember, me and father are the only two guys that really love you for who you are. The rest can't love you," and with that he walked next to the burly looking man and they disappeared.  
good-bye  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
hecouldneverloveyouhecouldneverloveyouhecouldneverloveyou  
we move in on a scene now. A group of kids. Teenagers really. They're chasing after a boy with a pig-tail. With the way he's moving, he seems to be a martial artist. And wait, was that- yes it was. It was the youngest daughter all grown up now...and very beautiful with short, blue-cropped hair and large brown eyes. She seems to be chasing after the boy also.   
water splashes. It seems the boy was really a girl after all. And the people continue to chase after him. But when it was all stripped down to the very essence of life.   
the boy's color was black.  
so  
red  
white  
and   
black  
they are the ties that hold.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Author's Notes: Okay, so I flattered myself. It's not *that* dark but to me it was. Why does it seem as if I'm not getting any mail? Except for May, of course, who e-mail me everytime I update. ^_^ C'mon, people, I'm just like any other writer, I love feedback! Tell, oh, do tell. :) 


	2. Mothers warn your daughters about the do...

nosferatu (Me and You)  
Chapter 1, Mothers warn your daughters about the dog-demon  
  
Author's Notes: And no it's not a cross-over with Inuyasha (even though you just gotta love the dog-demon ^_^) There seems to be some confusion about the last chapter. It's not complicated, I mean, I just took away the basic grammer rules, that was it! It was meant to show the simplicity of the scenes. It wasn't just a chapter, it was like a dream almost. But as always, it didn't turn out the way I planned and just confused a lot of people. ;) Just let me clear about some things...No! Ranma is *not* Akane's brother *shakes her head*. No! Ranma is in no way related to Akane. No! The guy in the last chapter is in no way related to Ranma (this isn't going to be another Scarlet Trail people). And finally, the final thing I want to make clear is that none of my stories as of yet are abandoned so if you like any of my stories and it hasn't been updated in awhile, don't worry. It will be (I just don't know when). For those of you who have lost loved ones, you have my condolences. I know that isn't much, but it's something.  
  
Disclaimers: Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. Fallen Angels belong to Aerosmith.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
There's a candle burning   
In the world tonight  
For another child   
Who vanished out of sight  
And a heart is broken  
Another prayer in vain  
There's a million tears   
That'll fill a sea of pain  
  
Sometimes I stare out my window  
My thoughts all drift into space  
Sometimes I wonder if there's a better place  
Tell me  
  
Where do fallen angels go?  
I just don't know (I just don't know)  
Where do fallen angels go?  
They keep falling (They keep falling)  
  
Well, the times is frightening  
Can't ignore the facts  
There's so many people  
Just slippin' through the cracks  
  
So many ashes are scattered  
So many rivers run dry  
Sometimes your Heaven is Hell   
And you don't know why  
So, listen  
  
Falling, falling, falling  
  
Can you hear me?  
Can you hear me?  
Somewhere out there   
There's a shining light  
And I got to be with you tonight  
  
And with all we're nowhere  
We still pay the price  
Yeah the Devil seems to get his way  
In downtown paradise  
  
There's a candle burning  
La, la, la...  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
It waited patiently in the limb of the tree outside of the boy's window, it's form crouched and low. The dark night wrapped around the creature like a faithful servant and it's pure white hair contrasted beautifully with the night. Human eyes could see nothing through the black window, but these were not human eyes that looked through them. The creature had followed the boy around for some time now, waiting and watching. When the creature had returned to it's home, it hadn't expected the new scent in it's house. The creature cared not for the old man, he was nothing more then a useless carcass of human flesh still alive. The old man did nothing more then annoy the creature, but no...there was another. Another scent. Another male. A boy that was living and pure energy...and the creature wanted nothing more then to rip the skin off of the boy's throat and devour it as blood gushed out.  
  
In the dark, the white creature grinned a malicious smile as it's sharp teeth glinted. Even as far as it was, the creature could still hear the boy's breathing and it imagined the boy's chest going up and down...up...and down...up...and down...Oh! How it would love to just rip the heart out of that ugly human. Chew and spit out the hands that kept touching it's mistress. At the thought of the male touching it's mistress, the creature growled and bared it's teeth as saliva dripped. The window suddenly didn't seem all that distant anymore. Just one wrong move, the creature thought licking it's teeth, one wrong move, boy and you're all mine.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Akane never had a nightmare in her entire life...at least not one that she could remember. It wasn't to say that she always had good dreams either, just that she rarely dreamt at all. Usually, it was just a light sleep where she closed her eyes one second and the next she opened them and it was hours later. It wasn't that way with her fiancee, though. He and his father would sleep for hours on end as though they were in a coma. Once those sparkling eyes of his closed, he was knocked out. That was why when she was asleep she wasn't really asleep at all. 'It was a just a closing of the eyes' here father had said once. How many Martial Artists in the world had wanted that ability? To be asleep and yet unconsciously awake also? When she dreamt, the dreams were always light...nothing too detailed...as though whoever designed her dreams was a simple-minded seven year old girl. Sometimes she dreamed of her pet P-chan and the dreams were full for flowers and warmth. Othertimes she just dreamed of being the best Martial Artist in the world. Dreams were simple things, really...at least they were to her.  
  
This night, however, there were no dreams...just sleep. A light simple kind of sleep that she nearly always had. Maybe that was why she heard the sound so quickly as though she had been expecting it. The crash and the sound of glass breaking. The sound of inhuman growls ready to rip apart screams from human bodies. Akane had sat up with a start...as if she was never even really asleep...but just laying there with her eyes closed... waiting. When the sound of broken things entered her mind, the girl greeted it with something akin to relief and fear.  
With a few quick movements, she was out of the bed and heading for the door. What was that sound? It sounded like it came from the guest room where Ranma was. *Shampoo probably snuck into bed with him again* and with that thought a burst of red hot anger raced through her. *How dare that jerk sleep with Shampoo!* came her next line of thought. With these things in mind and a barely controlled temper, Akane ran out the room to give Shampoo a piece of her mind and Ranma a piece of her mallet or fist.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The golden girl sat up with a start, her eyes bright and glinting. Her breathing was rough and ragged as she stared into the darkness of her room. If anyone saw her now they would probably have died of shocked by the sheer ferocity of her stare. What happened to the gentle girl? What happened to the oblivious, forgiving girl? The golden girl felt its presence somewhere in the house, the presence of the demon that she had tried to kill before. She had awoken from her sweet dreams without knowing what had waken her, but now she knew. The thing was here...it had returned. But...if *it* came back...maybe then *he* came back too...  
There was no time for thoughts now, she had to hurry. The golden-girl stepped out of bed and ran over to her closet door, flinging it open. Her eyes landed on the object hanging proudly with no dust on the wall. A light from somewhere, probably the moon, reflected the sword and it shone slightly...as though beckoning to her. With a set of her chin, the girl walked proudly over and pulled the sword from it's place on the wall. For awhile she just stood there, feeling the rough cloth of the handle in her hand...petting the sharp, deadly blade soothingly. It had been too long since she used this...not that she minded. The golden girl was a peaceful person...and her sword was also...but when time called for it's use...then it would be used.  
  
Her hand tightening on the sword, the golden girl walked quickly out the door of her bedroom, her long, beautiful tresses of hair trailing behind her.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The girl had been sitting at her desk, counting her money and monthly income under the dim light of her desk lamp. This was the only time that she could calculate her profits and losses without fear of interference or discovery from one of her family members. Hmm, that was strange...it seems she didn't make quite a large enough profit this month... which to her was a loss. *I must stop being so compassionate* the girl thought. Suddenly, her body convulsed and shivered. The girl's eyes widened in shock and fear before another shiver ran through her, this time more strong then the last. The girl known as Nabiki started to shake...shake and convulse as she fell from her chair to the floor.  
*Oh please no* she begged in her mind, though she knew no one could possibly hear. Her throat started to clog up with something and the girl found herself choking as well as shaking. Fear and stark terror was all she felt. This girl who feared nothing...feared this more then anything else. The shaking wouldn't stop nor could she breathe. Her skin broke out in a cold sweat...the cold-hot liquid trickling down her skin and onto the carpet of her bedroom.   
  
*No!* her mind shouted. This girl who had always been strong and willful. *No!* her mind shouted again and this time her body flooded with the joyous heat of anger and emotion. *I'm not a child! How dare you do this?! How dare you?!* her fury and anger provided the much needed heat she sought. It also provided a thought in her head that was clear from the fog of fear and terror. Her shaking slowed down...then stopped altogether. The stuff in her throat slided away until there was only a nasty taste left.  
Her frail, white hand shook slightly as she put it on the bed to lever herself off the floor. When she managed to stand up slightly with only her hand to hold her up, her knees wobbled and she nearly slipped and fell. Her other hand raked through her perfect, short, brown hair as she breathed out a sigh of relief and tiredness. Suddenly, a though raced through her mind and her terror was back.  
  
"Oh geez! Akane!" Nabiki half-shouted, half-whispered as she dashed out of that room, intent on saving her sister from the demon thing.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Ranma had been asleep in his room when he heard the crash and felt the shattered glass fly across the room. He sat up with a start, his blue-gray eyes wide and alert in the darkness. *What was that?!* his mind screamed before he felt something sharp clamp painfully down on his arm. With a cry, he used all his strength to fling the thing across the room before scrambling off his futon and rushing over to turn on the light switch. Sweat poured down his body in beads as his large eyes darted this way and that in the room, trying to sense or locate the thing that caused the crash and bit him...but there was nothing. There was nothing but a broken window and his snoring panda father who still laid asleep. He stared down at his futon and noticed the blood there. Where was it? *What* was it? And the most important question of all...where the hell was it now?  
  
Before another thought could pass his mind he felt a strong presence and turned around just in time to see a flash of white and a pair of sharp teeth clamp viciously down onto his neck.   
"What the hell?!" he screamed as he grabbed the thing and flung it towards the wall from his neck. It's large form slammed against the wall before it bounced back up again, growling it's teeth at him. Ranma felt his hand move of it's own will towards his throat and when he looked down he saw blood all over it. *Oh shit!* his mind cursed again before turning to look at the creature. It was too big to be a dog or a wolf...and yet too small to be anything else. The thing was like a large wolf of some sort...only ten times more ferocious... and a million times more deadly. The thing's ears were pulled back to it's head and it bared it's sharp fang-like teeth to him in growls of hostiliy...but the thing that really scared the young teenager, although he would never admit to it, were the eyes. Those burning red eyes that seemed to stare deep into his soul and wished it demise and pain. Whatever this thing was, it was death in the form of a creature...  
...and Ranma was frightened...  
...more frightened then he had ever been in his life...  
  
Suddenly, the door to the guest bedroom was burst open and both awake occupants of the room turned their heads to see a seething Akane stand there. Akane had gotten herself into a downright fit and was turning her eyes angrily around the room to try and spot her fiancee.  
*No, you idiot, get out of here!* Ranma shouted in his head...but no sound came out of his mouth.  
"Ranma, how dare you-!" but her voice dwindled away as she saw the blood on the floor and the bloody Ranma by the wall. Her face lost most, if not all, of it's blood and her eyes widened considerably.  
"What happened?!" she shouted as she stared at him in shock. Her feet began to move and the girl started to run to her fiancee when the creature moved.   
"No!!!" Ranma screamed as he saw the flying bundle of white hair jump up with lightening speed and jump on Akane. His fear left, leaving only a flaming hot anger. He rushed toward Akane but what he saw stopped him immediatly in his tracks.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The golden girl ran down the hallway, her sword in her hand, her eyes dark and intent. Before she reached the room where the demon's blood called out to her, she saw a door fling open in front of her and a shaky Nabiki run out. Running faster, the golden girl caught up to her sister and clamp a hand on the other girl's shoulder. Nabiki jumped and flung her body around, her eyes darting this way and that in fear until they landed on Kasumi.  
"Oh geez, Kasumi, you scared me!" she said, her hand over her heart. The golden girl just looked sadly down at her pale sister with the shaking hands.  
"Oh Nabiki..." she said softly as she stroked her sister's cheek with the hand not holding the sword.  
  
Nabiki's eyes watered for a moment before they dried again and she brushed Kasumi's hand aside distractedly.  
"I'm okay, oneechan, really. We need to get to Akane," she said and Kasumi's mouth hardend as she nodded her agreement. Nabiki swallowed a lump in her throat as she looked at her oneechan. It had been years since she had seen Kasumi this way...years...so many years that she almost forgot. Kasumi wasn't supposed to be this way...Kasumi was supposed to be loving and carefree and sweet...  
*...but when terror strikes...* Nabiki thought.   
  
Both sister ran down the hallway until they reach the room where the demon's blood called out. Without any hesitation, they flung open the door and immediatly, their eyes landed on the same spectacle that Ranma beheld.  
Akane sat on the floor of the guest room, her brown eyes childish and afraid as she tried to push the creature on her off without openly showing it. The thing...the wolf-demon...the creature...sat perched on Akane's crossed legs. It's red-hot eyes had dimmed down to a mild dark brown that gleamed with contentment as it licked one of Akane's hands. Even it's size seemed to have shrunk when the white hairs on it's back wasn't standing on end...and it's ears weren't pulled back in hostility.   
  
Akane seemed to have forgotten about Ranma as she turned dilated pupils to her two sisters in the doorway. The tomboy was scared out of her mind...quite literally.  
"You said it wasn't going to come back again," Ranma heard her whisper to Kasumi and Ranma wasn't even sure Akane knew she was saying these words, she was so scared. The creature seemed to have heard her, though. The demon turned it's head up to stare at Akane with pained eyes, but Akane just inched her head back in fear and disgust. For a moment, the pig-tailed fiancee almost felt sorry for the creature who seemed so hurt by the young girl's words.  
"Eemmm..." the thing whimpered and Akane whispered involuntarily in disgust, "Don't touch me."  
The creature's head reeled back as though hit...but still it would not budge from it's place on Akane's lap. Not as long as there was another male in the presence.   
  
The golden girl suddenly broke out of her shocked gaze and the hand on her sword tightened as the other joined it there.  
"Get away from my sister!" she shouted before rushing toward the creature. It looked as Kasumi in shock before leaping out of Akane's lap and onto the floor. Ranma watched in surprise as he saw Kasumi moved with a Martial Arts ability he never saw before. Even stranger yet, was the fact that, instead of just attacking the weaker girl and killing her, the creature chose to dodge her attacks.   
Finally having enough of the attacks, the creature stopped for a second to issue a menacing growl at Ranma before disappearing out of the window. Kasumi looked furiously at the place where the creature had been before rushing over to Akane. The hard and protective look in her eyes weren't exactly gone...just lessened until it was back to the same Kasumi-like texture again. The older sibling bent down and hugged Akane close to her as she provided the comfort she herself needed.  
  
The sleeping panda decided upon this moment to wearily open it's eyes. The same eyes widened as it stared around the room.  
"What happened?!" Genma-panda signed.  
Nabiki, now that thew danger was gone, was back to her old self so she said in a wry, amused tone, "It seems that Akane's lost puppy found it's way home."  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
In a darkened alleyway a mean looking cat sat on a garbage-can chewing on a piece of bone it found. A canine walks from the shadows to apporoach the feasting feline. A growl is heard...then a hiss...  
...and blood splatters...  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
"Ow! Watch it!" the boy cried out as the doctor tied the bandage on his arm and started on the wound in his neck.  
"Take it like a man boy!" Genma said which only got him a deadly glare from his son.  
After the 'incident', as they put it, the group of teenagers along with a confused Genma-panda made their way into the kitchen only to find Soun already d own there. Kasumi made hot tea for everyone as Nabiki phoned Dr. Tofu to rush over. Now, they all sat around the table on the floor in the kitchen after Nabiki gave a brief summary of what had happened to everyone. They all sat contemplating this.  
  
Finally, Soun stood up with a sigh and a forlorn look on his face. All eyes were on him as he walked out of the room, and then, a few minutes later, came back with a blank envelope in his hand.   
Walking over he handed the envelope to Kasumi and said, "I thought it was good news when I got this, but after tonight...I don't know. Maybe it's not over yet."  
A flicker passed through Kasumi's eyes before she opened the envelope and pulled out a postcard.   
After reading the brief message, she uttered a stunned, "Oh my."  
  
Everyone else, including a newly bandaged Ranma and his father, stumbled over to read the message over Kasumi's shoulder.  
Ranma heard a curse uttered beside him and turned his head to see the color flow away from Nabiki's face. Wanting an answer to the strange message, he turned his head to see an equally bewildered Akane.  
"What does it mean?" the youngest Tendo asked her father, "I'm coming home, dad? Taku? Who's that? And what was that thing?" Kasumi, Nabiki and Mr. Tendo turned sad, almost pitying, eyes to Akane. This did not get lost on the girl or her fiancee.  
  
"What?" she asked as she started to back away.  
"Akane-chan," Kasumi said slowly, "what did that creature make you feel?" All eyes bore on the young girl now.  
"I...I...I was scared, I guess. Why?" Akane's now nervous eyes darted in question to her father.  
"She doesn't remember," Soun said, almost to himself and his middle child said dryly, "Well, how can you expect her to, daddy? She was only about three when it happened."  
  
"Would somebody please tell me what is going on? Who's Taku?" Ranma asked, voicing Akane's questions again.  
Soun sighed as his eyes lowered in what almost seemed like shame.  
"My son," he answered.  
The panda's eyes widened considerably and Ranma yelled out, "Your son?! You have a son?" He turned to Soun, Kasumi and Nabiki hoping for an answer but none of them would meet his eyes. Then, he heard a gasp nearby and looked over to see Akane with her mouth open and a look of recognition in her face.  
  
"Oh yeah," she said out loud, her voice holding a tinge of a joyous memory, "Taku."  
"You remember him?" Soun asked in fear, his eyes bordering near tears.  
The blue-haired girl's eyes held confusion for a second before she answered, "A little bit. I'm still not sure though..." Here her eyes crinkled slightly and they sparkled with warmth.  
"A boy with warm hands. A smile...and eyes...brown eyes that never got mad at me...that was always smiling. Am I right?" she asked suddenly, breaking out of her trance.   
Nabiki gave a sniff and turned her head away while Kasumi gave a soft smile that was a mixture of pain and love.  
"You couldn't be more right," the oldest Tendo girl said.  
"But...but he left. Why'd he leave?" Akane asked in confusion. The memories in her head were so hazy...and so very vague...  
  
{{{Memory}}}  
...the baby girl snapped her head up as a sob erupted it's way from her throat. With tears running down her cheeks, she moved her hand over to clutch onto her Taku-chan and sob her tears. She knew as soon as the nightmare had jerked her awake that she was in Taku-chan's room and not her own...nobdy knew this but her and him. The little girl had her own room but she was still afraid of monsters and the dark so when everyone was asleep, she would get out of bed and pad her way over to Taku-chan's room to sleep with him. Taku-chan kept the monsters away. And in the morning, when she woke up, she was in her own bed again and the toddler knew her older brother and carried her back to her room. It was their little secret.  
...but Taku-chan wasn't there...he wasn't there that night to hug her and tell her it was just a dream...he wasn't there to tell her that he was keeping the monsters away...  
  
With a terrifying grip of fear over her heart, the toddler scrambled out of bed and ran out the room. It was still hazy...even now...the memory...she couldn't remember how long the stretch of hallway was...nor how dark it was. She just remembered it was long and that everything was too big...to large...too overwhelming. When she reached the steps, the little girl ran down...  
...and her short legs tripped...  
  
The girl gave a scream as she fell head first and rolled down the stairs. When the tumbling and the endless pain stopped...she found she was laying on her stomach with a cut on her shoulder.   
Giving a soft, "Ungh," the girl looked up and suddenly the thought of her shoulder's pain was erased by what she saw. Her small eyes widened and she gave a cry.  
  
Nabiki layed on the floor, blood surrounding her as though it was splashed on, buckets and buckets of blood. Kasumi stood on the side, her hair wild and her cheeks wet with tears as she tried to hold onto the heavy sword in her hands. Dad was bent down next to Nabiki, sobbing as he clutched her to his chest...and Taku-chan..  
...Taku-chan stood in the corner with shock in his eyes...  
...and blood on his hands...  
{{{End of Memory}}}  
  
"...Akane?...Akane?!" Akane broke out of her trance as she felt the shaking on one side of her shoulder.  
"Huh? Huh? What?" she asked, turning her dark brown eyes to meet Ranma's.  
Snorting the boy said, a bit miffed that she had ignored him, "Geez, ya stupid tomboy, can't you even pay attention?"  
"Hey!" Akane shouted, her anger flaring up, leaving the trace of her memory forgottened for now, "Who are you calling a tomboy, you jerk!"  
"Who are you calling a jerk?!" he shouted back at her and the tension between them was so strong, it sizzled.  
  
"Grrrr," Akane growled and that was the only warning Ranma got before a mallet connected with his face, pushing him back into a wall. Nobody lifted a hand to help Ranma up.  
"Hmph!" the blue-haired fiancee lifted her nose in the air and stomped her way out of the room, the importance of the conversation earlier not weighing in on her. After awhile, Ranma grumbled and picked himself off the floor and out of the room.  
Silence hung in the air for awhile before it was broken by Genma's question, "So... does your new son know how to cook, Tendo?"  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
He came.  
There was no loud processions...no screams and hugs. There were no curses to speak of and nothing strange at all. Nobody was mad at him and they greeted him with comfort. A week after the nightly 'incident', Taku Tendo had come home and it was like he never even left. The golden girl opened the door and true there were tears down her cheeks as she hugged him and saw how much he had grown...but nothing was strange. The middle girl broke into a little half smile, one of the rare ones she ever showed and cancelled all her bets for the day in celebration of his coming home. His father didn't say anything, just shook his hand and observed how much his son had grown in such a short time...well not so short. The boy, now a man, had been traveling with another man...one that was grim and never smiled...and they both headed upstairs to settle in Taku's old room.  
  
But the boy's old room was no longer his. In the years of his absence it had been turned into a guest room and for the past year, another boy and his father had been living there. Soun tried to explain to Taku and the boy just said it didn't matter...that he and the other man could just sleep on futons in the dojo. Yet, the feeling of a replacement was still in the air.   
Then there was a scream out in the front yard and everyone ran out to inspect it.  
There were a group of teenagers there, fighting and yelling. One of the teenagers was an Amazon, one was a fighter, one was a pig and one was the boy's replacement.  
And another, one other, a girl...the girl...his girl...  
  
He stood in the yard waiting for her to notice him and when her eyes caught his form...she gasped and turned around to face him.  
He grinned that quirky, half-smile of his that seemed to just warm her heart.  
"Hi Red," he said as he took a hand out to scratch the back of his head sheepishly.  
"Taku-chan!" she screamed in joy and ran over to hug him briefly.  
There was nothing strange about the hug. Akane was just happy to see her brother again and her brother was happy to see her.  
Really, there was no reason for Ranma to be glowing blue like that.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
  



	3. Miss You Dearly Brother Dear

nosferatu (Me and You)

Chapter 2, Miss You Dearly Brother Dear

Author's Notes: No, none of my stories are abandoned. Yes, I must continue working on my older stories before I update on my newer ones. And yes, one of the stories told by Taku in this chapter is really an Asian legend. I just twisted it around slightly because I can't remember the exact legend.

Disclaimers: Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and the song Fallen Angels belongs to Aerosmith.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There's a candle burning 

In the world tonight

For another child 

Who vanished out of sight

And a heart is broken

Another prayer in vain

There's a million tears 

That'll fill a sea of pain

Sometimes I stare out my window

My thoughts all drift into space

Sometimes I wonder if there's a better place

Tell me

Where do fallen angels go?

I just don't know (I just don't know)

Where do fallen angels go?

They keep falling (They keep falling)

Well, the times is frightening

Can't ignore the facts

There's so many people

Just slippin' through the cracks

So many ashes are scattered

So many rivers run dry

Sometimes your Heaven is Hell 

And you don't know why

So, listen

Falling, falling, falling

Can you hear me?

Can you hear me?

Somewhere out there 

There's a shining light

And I got to be with you tonight

And with all we're nowhere

We still pay the price

Yeah the Devil seems to get his way

In downtown paradise

There's a candle burning

La, la, la...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_"Taku-chan, tell us a story," the little girl begged the boy from her perch atop the living room table. The boy looked hesitantly at the other two sisters. _

The golden girl gave her approval, "Yes, tell us a story, older brother."

"Tell us a story, Taku," the middle girl added, not wanting to show that she really cared.

The boy smiled to himself. It was nighttime and only a candle flickered on the table. The three should not be down here. It was past their bedtimes and their father was asleep upstairs. They could not turn on the electric bulb but the small candle gave them each warmth and light. 

"Which story should I tell?" the oldest child asked though he already knew.

"The one of the flower girl," Kasumi answered softly.

"No, the one of the salt Princess," Nabiki protested.

"Akane?" Taku asked the youngest.

"I want to hear the story of the Earth Princess and the two Princes," Akane mumbled Nabiki groaned.

"That story again?" she whined.

"Well, I want to hear it Nabiki," the youngest shot back defensively.

"Well, if that's what Akane wants to hear, then that will be what I tell," the brother said softly and the youngest smiled. Nabiki scowled slightly but did not budge from her seat. She still wanted to hear the story...no matter how many times Taku told it. 

The candle flickered slightly and Taku began.

"Once upon a time, for that's where all stories begin, the Earth was divided into two. Fire and Water. Ruling on each side of the world were two Princes. They were not Kings for they were still boys and they were not children for they were grown men. The Princes were immortal and lived for many years ruling their own separate kingdom. On one side, things prospered and lived under the care of the Water Prince, but on the other side, beauty died and things toiled under the rule of the Fire Prince. Nobody knew how it got to be that way. Never once did the two Princes speak to each other in all that time. They were too afraid of what would happen if they did.

"There was one neutral land, however. There was a small kingdom off to the corner of the world that somehow managed to survive. It was possible that the Princes simply did not care or worry too much about that kingdom. The Water Prince wished for the people in that kingdom to live in harmony and the Fire Prince did not want to start something that he would not want to finish. And thus, it continued on like this for many a long time...until one day...one day in that small, out-of-the-way kingdom...a baby girl was born."

All three girls sucked in their breath. It was as though they could see the child before them. Little Akane's chest started to hurt. Maybe her heart would break.

Taku continued.

"Some say that the baby Princess was very beautiful, but I do not believe that. She was kind, compassionate, angry, stubborn...in truth, she was human. She was nothing more and nothing less then any other girl. Yet, she was as different as they came. Maybe that was why the Princes had fallen in love with her. Both Princes came to ask the King for his daughter's hand in marriage. The King, wanting only the best for his child, demanded that each show their power and their gift and he would deem who was worthy of his daughter. The Fire Prince went first and he threw fire upon the Earth. He destroyed plants and animals, beasts and beauty. Everything his finger touched became charred and lifeless. His power was extreme and the King was impressed. Next came the Water Prince. The Water Prince opened his compassionate eyes and poured his heart out onto the Earth. It healed the charred ground and fed waters to the rivers. It bathed burning animals and gave plants life. 

"The King asked for three days and three nights to make his decision. First, he asked his people for advice.

"'Who shall I pick to marry my precious one?' he asked.

"'Fire Prince! Fire Prince!' they cried, afraid and shaking under proof of the Fire Prince's power.

"The King asked his wife.

"'Who shall I pick to marry my precious one?' he asked.

"'The Water Prince for he will never lash out in anger at our daughter or bring destruction to our kingdom,' the Queen replied.

"Finally, in despair the King asked his daughter.

"'Who shall I pick to marry my precious one?" he asked.

"'Pick one as though you were casting me out, papa, and he is to be the Prince of my new home. You will choose the right one,' the Princess answered and her faith in the King made him see clearly for the first time.

"'Yes,' the King said to himself, 'I know who I shall pick now.'

"Three days later, the two Princes returned for the King's answer. The King had thought thoroughly and had chosen to marry the Princess off to the Water Prince. The Fire Prince shouted in anger and vowed he would be back. The wedding was to take place on the Princess's birthday."

Immediately, Akane jumped up and hurried to where Taku sat. She moved silently into his lap and held tight onto his warmth. Taku did not look at her. 

"Stop talking, Taku-chan," Akane whispered. "End the story right here and make it happily ever after. Please, Taku-chan. Why can't the story end right here?" There were tears in Kasumi's and Nabiki's eyes. Every time Taku got to this part, Akane would always do this and ask this question. 

"I have to tell the full story, Red," Taku said, not looking at the little girl. The boy's face was hard-set.

"I would never have chosen the Water Prince," Akane whispered achingly to herself and Taku's eyes glittered but he did not reply to that.

He said the next line to the story and all three girls shivered.

"But there was to be no wedding. The Princess had died the day before."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ranma stomped into the kitchen, trying to make as much noise as possible. Kasumi turned her face away so that he would not see the amused smile on her face. Her little sister's fiancee looked so much like a little kid when he pouted like that. The oldest Tendo girl looked down at her hands as they knead the dough on the board. Her hands were covered in flower and nobody would notice the blisters but her...but she always noticed the blisters. 

The teenage boy finally noticed the girl kneading the dough on the floor. He walked over to the girl who was practically his sister and sat down, with crossed legs, in front of her.

"Hello Ranma-kun," Kasumi greeted, her voice like tinkling silver bells on Christmas Day.

"Hi Kasumi," the boy said but his voice was so whiny and angry that the golden girl had to push the dough hard into her hands to keep from laughing.

"Why Ranma," the girl asked innocently. "Is there something wrong? Where's Akane?"

Immediately, the pig-tailed boy's face scrunched up and steam practically shot out of his nose.

"Who cares where that stupid tomboy is! She's always running off somewhere with someone." Now, Kasumi had a certain talent. She knew how to decipher words that people say to interpret what they really meant. Her interpretation of this? 'Akane's with Taku.' Not that she needed any talent to know that. It would be expected that Akane spent her time with Taku after all the time that he had been gone. 

"Don't be jealous of Taku, Ranma. He's our brother and he's only been here for one day. He's been gone so long...let Akane have some time with him," Kasumi said. 

"What?" the boy shouted out in outrage as he jumped up. "No! No! You have it all wrong, Kasumi. Me! Jealous? You have to be kidding or something!"

Kasumi finally looked up from her hands to stare straight into Ranma's face with eyes that were all sincerity.

"You're not always going to be the center of Akane's life, Ranma. Get used to it." Then, she turned her attention back to the dough in her hands. Ranma just stood in shocked silence for awhile. He did not know what to say. Birds chirped outside and the sun was bright, but the air inside the kitchen was choking and yet free.

Ranma shuffled his feet this way and that in nervousness for a second before asking, "Hey, what are you making?"

"A sweet little dessert. You'll like it. I hope Mr. Saotome will also. He's my best critic, you know."

"Oh don't worry, Pop can eat a log full of killer ants and call it delicious. Not to say that your cooking taste like killer ants, Kasumi...not like that stupid tomboy's..." he trailed off.

Oh well, came Kasumi's sighing thought, Akane has been neglecting him a little too much. He must not be used to that.

"Why don't you invite Akane and Taku to Ucchan's, Ranma?" she suggested.

It took a moment for the though to process into Ranma's mind and then twist itself to his brain's proportions.

"Oh yeah," he said with wide eyes. "I can probably make that stupid tomboy jealous if I start cuddling up with Ucchan. Ha! Ignore me, will she? Thanks, Kasumi." With that, he was out the door and off. 

Kasumi gave a soft smile to herself before turning back to the dough rolling in her blistered hands.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sun shone down brightly down onto the busy streets and nobody would have noticed the two Tendo children walking companionably down the sidewalk. The girl was a teenager with the school Furinkan school uniform on and the boy was only three or four years older then her. He wore a pair of faded, blue jeans that were almost white and a dark black shirt with a golden crown on the front. How young they both looked.

"I wish I remembered more," Akane laughed as she brushed a hand through her ocean blue hair. Her hair hadn't always been that blue. When she was a child, her eyes had been a light champagne brown like Kasumi's and a dark brown, almost like Nabiki's. As she grew up though, her hair grew darker until it was so dark, it was blue...and her eyes became darker too so that they were more like Nabiki's. Looking at her now, Taku regretted never seeing that change.

"Hey, it's alright, you were just a little kid. At least you didn't forget me entirely," the boy grinned at her. Akane looked up and gave him a light, breezy smile.

"Yeah, I couldn't forget you entirely. I still remember some little things, though. Tell me more about when we were kids." Akane couldn't remember when she had felt this care-free and fresh. 

"Well," Taku said after much thought and lip-biting. "You fell an awful lot when you were a kid. We had to lay blankets on the floor so you wouldn't hurt yourself. It was really pathetic-"

Splash!

Taku and Akane looked up at the old lady with the upside down laddle. She appeared not to see them as she walked back into her home. Akane looked at Taku's dripping wet form and gave out a burst of laughter. It had never seem so funny before...but right now...it was hilarious. 

"Oh very funny, Red," Taku mumbled as he smelled his shirt and tried to wipe the liquid from his hair. 

"No, it's odd. Ranma's usually the only one that gets caught by the-" 

Before Akane could finish, she noticed a flying, jumping black and red form coming towards her. Before she could blink, Ranma was standing in front of her and Taku with a bright smile on his face.

A slow scowl came onto Akane's face. Why did Ranma have to ruin everything for her? Taku looked confused.

"Ranma," the girl growled. "Get out of the way!"

"Hey, Akane," Ranma said, appearing not to hear her or the hostility in her voice. "I thought of a great idea. Why don't you and me show Taki-"

"Taku."

"Right. Why don't you and me show Taku the Ucchan's?" 

"The Ucchan's?" Taku asked slowly in an uncertain way. Akane's eyes were narrowed and she was suspicious, however. She didn't like the smile on Ranma's face or the gleam in his eyes. Ranma only got that gleam when he was about to fight an opponent and knew he was going to win.

"What are you up to, Ranma?" Akane asked.

"Nothing, Akane. Come on, Taku," Ranma said, pulling the boy along.

Taku just looked at Akane with a helpless expression.

"At least I can get dry there," he said and Akane rolled her eyes once in annoyance before running after them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nabiki walked down at the sunny street with her arms around herself. For the oddest reason, she's been cold all day. No, cut that, she's been cold ever since the other night. No matter how much she tried, she just couldn't seem to get warm. This cold was inside her...a dark core that spread off cold after cold energy. It wasn't a freezing cold or a biting cold either...it was an empty cold inside her whole body that she just couldn't seem to get rid of. The scariest part hadn't been the cold though...it had been what the cold made her feel like. The cold made her feel like a little girl...the little girl that was defenseless and unsure of herself...the little girl that she never wanted to be again.

Nabiki gritted her teeth and quickened her pace. She had cancelled all bets for the day...she just couldn't deal with people right now. She would go home and she would have Kausmi make her a nice cup of tea and some soup. And maybe now that Taku's home...she could ask him what it meant. After all, she trusted Taku.

Her head too preoccupied with thoughts, Nabiki nearly ran over a form in the road. She tripped slightly (lucky there was no one really around to see) and looked down at the bruised and groaning form.

"Kuno-baby!" she exclaimed in half anger, half amusement. How did he always get himself into scams like this? "Need a little help?"

He just shot her a dirty look and scrambled to get up on his own. He swaggered slightly and Nabiki had to end up ducking under his arm and helping him anyway.

"The great Tatewaki Kuni does not need your help, woman!"he shouted indignantly but like always, she just ignored him. Nabiki led Kuno back to his home but would not go past the gate. She wasn't stupid enough to go anywhere near Kodachi. Kuno took his arm off the Tendo girl's shoulder and leaned on the gate of his home. Involuntarily, Nabiki gave a shiver. For some odd reason, his closeness had provided a small warmth from the cold.

"Here," Kuno said in a disgusted voice as he shoved his outside coat into her face. "Even a money-hungry being like you should not be so cold." 

"Thanks, Kuno," Nabiki said wryly before putting it on. She turned around to leave.

"You don't have to thank me. I am a natural gentlemen who can not refuse even such a vile female as yourself!" he yelled after her.

"Good-bye Kuno," Nabiki shouted back as she wrapped the coat closer around herself. Maybe it was her imagination, but she wasn't so cold anymore.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hi Ucchan!" Ranma yelled out as the bell chimed in the restaurant. The place was slightly full but the chef was nowhere to be seen. By now, the two teens and Taku were standing beside the closed doorway. 

"Ucchan?" Ranma asked again.

"Down here, Ranchan!" came Ukyo's voice from behind the counter. She jumped up and smiled happily at Ranma, but the smile was only on halfway, however, on account of Akane. Ranma smiled confidantly again as he turned to Taku.

"That's Ucchan," the boy said, gesturing his head towards the girl. "She's my cute fiancee."

Two simultaneous things happened. Ukyo's smile turned up to 100 watt and Akane's scowl darkened. For once, though, she didn't hit him in anger and jealousy. She didn't hit him at all. In fact, she had just grabbed Taku's hand and pulled him towards the counter where Ukyo stood. 

Akane's hand had been poised to grab her mallet and slam Ranma into the next century, but the minute before she did, she felt Taku's eyes on hers. When she turned to Taku-chan, she saw him with a small smile on his face. 'Why so serious, Red?' he seemed to be asking her. 'Why take things so seriously?' And although she still felt the choking hurt and blinding anger of Ranma's careless words, she did not do anything. Pain is mandatory...suffering is optional. If Ranma wanted to be stupid, let him, she thought as she pulled her older brother to meet Ukyo.

"Hey, sugar," Ukyo said, her mood considerably lightened by Ranma's words. "Who's that with you?"

"Oh, this is my brother," Akane introduced. "Taku-chan, this is Ukyo. Ukyo, this is Taku-chan."

Ukyo looked surprised.

"I didn't know you had a brother. Where did he come from? Your family been hiding him or something?" Ukyo laughed. 

"Nah," Akane laughed too. Taku was right. She could enjoy herself. "He's just been traveling around, you know."

By this time, Ranma had plopped himself onto a seat and was looking slightly dejected and very, very confused and frustrated. Girls! One minute they act one way, the next they act another!

"What'll it be, Ranchan?" Ukyo asked, using the words with affection and relish. For once, Akane noticed that there was no malice in Ukyo's voice as she said this. There had never been any malice or mockery in Ukyo's voice when she said that pet name. She hadn't been doing it to rub in Akane's face. No one knew how odd and startling this revelation was to Akane. 

"Nothing, Ucchan," Ranma said and a series of shocked looks followed him.

"Wow, Ranchan actually doesn't want to eat something? Hey, I know what will cheer you up. Terra!" Ukyo bent down and called to something under the counter. "I found her outside the doorway to the restaurant this morning. She was just laying there, all smooth and comfortable like she was at home. This little striped, black tabby. Come here, Terra." 

Ranma and Akane's eyes had both widened considerably at the words 'striped, black tabby'. It simply couldn't be what they thought it was. 

It was.

Ukyo stood up with a small, gray-striped, black kitten in her hand with a piece of it's ear missing. The cat made a small meow and Ranma let out a terrified shriek. He jumped up and stumbled back towards the door. Suddenly, something very odd happened. Terra turned and gave a warning hiss at Taku. The boy growled slightly at the cat and it jumped up in fright. The cat practically flew across the room into Ranma's arms. It sank it's claws into Ranma's skin and would not let go no matter how much Ranma fought it. Akane had jumped up by this time and tried to tear the cat off of Ranma. All she got was scratched all over her face and arms.

Taku pulled Akane back and would not let her go towards the cat again. The sight of Ranma fighting the cat was horrifying. Most of the customers had moved to the side by now and tried to get out. Taku just held on tight to Akane, despite her strong protests, and watched the scene through narrowed eyes.

Finally understanding the situation, or part of it (the part where Ranma was in pain and danger, Ukyo grabbed her large spatula and hit the tabby across the room. The cat hit the wall with a smack and though it was still alive, it knew better then to move. It just lay there twitching and shivering. 

Ukyo bent down and grabbed onto both of Ranma's shoulders.

"Ranchan! Are you alright?" she shouted in worry. 

"GRRRRRREEEERRRRRROWWWWWWW!" came the twisted shout before Ukyo rolled in the air and landed on one of the tables.

"Ahhh!" Akane gave a shout and turned her face away briefly. Ukyo struggled to sit up, her face pale and her eyes wide and blank. She slowly moved her hand away from her neck where the pain was. Akane flinched at the three, bright red scratches across Ukyo's neck. 

"Ranchan," Ukyo croaked and her strength deserted her. Too much blood-lost. She collapsed onto the broken table. Akane just gulped and looked at the unconscious, pale girl's form in horror. She's dead, the blue-haired girl couldn't help thinking, she's dead. The thought continued on, tumbling and gaining momentum like a snowball down a mountain. she's dead. She's dead. SHE'S DEAD!

"Arrrr," a low rumbling was heard like thunder too near and too far. Akane finally moved her head back to look at the familiar crouched form. She gulped again...

It Neko-ken was in it's most bloody and deadly form.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's Notes: Short, I know. Maybe the future chapters will be longer. 


End file.
